


I'd Sell My Soul Just To See Your Face

by love_stella



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Animal Transformation, Husky Shenanigans, M/M, Multi, Zach's a little shit, not hockey players, so many feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-16 05:38:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19311730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/love_stella/pseuds/love_stella
Summary: “Wait, isn’t your dog’s name Jeremy, and you’re Phil?” Nic asks, trying to keep his confusion off his face but failing miserably if the smirk on Phil’s face is anything to go by.“Don’t ask, my boyfriend thought it would be funny if we named our dogs after each other,” Phil says. “Makes fighting easier I guess, we can’t stay mad at each other if we’re also talking to the dogs.”





	I'd Sell My Soul Just To See Your Face

**Author's Note:**

  * For [heybernia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heybernia/gifts).



> IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW IS MENTIONED IN THIS FIC DO US BOTH A FAVOR AND CLOSE THE PAGE AND SAVE US SO MUCH EMBARRASSMENT
> 
> Hi Heather! I'm sorry this is only half of what you asked for in your dear author letter, but I hope you still love it as much as I loved writing it. 
> 
> Thanks to m for the beta!

 

  
_Prologue (Jer)_

Today’s one of the rare days that Jér gets off work before Phil, and he’s capital B bored, so he decides to text Phil for asking how much longer he’ll be.

**Me**

**Save me i’m so bored**

**Beau**

**You’re fine**

**Me**

**I’m wasting away**

**Beau**

**Im omw you can survive another 10 min**

**Me**

**Idt i can**

**Beau**

**Yes u can. 10 min**

**Me**

**I’ll be waiting *eggplant emoji***

**Beau**

**Keep it in your pants**

**Me**

**:))))))**

**Beau**

**Why do i love you again?**

**Me**

**:)?**

 

Jér fucks around on his phone until the sound of keys in the lock let him know his boyfriend’s home, and he’d normally get up, pin him against the door and kiss him hello but right now he’s feeling lazy and besides, Phil’s gonna come over to kiss him anyways so why bother with the extra work?

“What should we watch tonight?” Jér says, already knowing his answer.

“Suits,” Phil says.

“The Office,” Jér counters, because The Office is the best show known to man.

“Suits has a better storyline,” Phil says.

“Yeah, but The Office is funnier,” Jér says.

“Yeah, but there’s nothing about it that makes you think,” Phil counters.

“Work sucked, I really don’t feel like watching a show I have to use my head to watch,” Jér says. “I just wanna be mindless for a bit.”

“Hey come here,” Phil says, pulling Jér into his side. “We can watch The Office if that’s what you really wanna do.”

“Please,” Jér says, curling into Phil’s side and giving him the remote.

A clanging sound makes Phil jerk up, and Jer’s going to maim whatever made the noise because dammit, he was comfortable.  

“Zach?” Phil mutters, looking towards the direction of the clang.

“You guys know I’ve been here for the past five minutes, right?” Zach says. “I had to get your attention somehow.”

“What d’you want Zachary?” Jér asks. “I’m sure Emile would love your company right now.”

“Relax, I left my headphones over here the last time I was over,” Zach says. “I’ll be out of your hair in a minute, not that you’d even notice if I stayed.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jér asks.

“Just that you two are so wrapped up in your own bubble that no one else matters,” Zach says. “You wouldn’t even notice someone paying attention to you if they waved a neon flag in your faces.”

“Shut up,” Jér says.

“Yeah,” Phil agrees, which, _nice comeback babe_ , Jér thinks.

Zach walks right in front of the tv and starts rooting through the little basket they keep on the coffee table, muttering something about “I know they’re in here somewhere,” and Jér loves his brother, he really does, but right now he just wishes he’d disappear.

“D’you mind, we’re watching that,” Jér whines.

“Relax, I found my headphones,” Zach says, showing them the tangled mess before sauntering out the door.

“We really should take his key away,” Jér mummers once Zach’s shows himself out.

“Hmm. Another day,” Phil agrees. “Nap now, worry about brothers later.”  

The last thing Jér thinks before he falls asleep practically in Phil’s lap is “we don’t need anyone else, we’re perfect.”

 

When Jér wakes up, he’s on the floor next to Phil’s legs in a heap, and for a minute the world looks like it’s in black and white. No, the world is in black and white, he realizes after blinking his eyes a couple times, but when he brings his hands up to rub at them he knocks himself in the face with paws. When he looks at himself he tries not to panic: _he’s a fucking_ _dog._ Sure, he’s been called a dog before, but right now he’s a four legged, fur covered, tail having, dog.

He tries to get Phil’s attention, but when he opens his mouth the only thing that comes out is a whine. It works though, Phil shooting up from his slouched position on the couch and looking around for the source of the noise, finally looking down at where Jér’s lying on the ground.

“Jér?” Phil asks, and Jér can only whine miserably in response.

Jér’s clumsy when he tries to stand up, not knowing how to work four legs instead of two, tripping over the legs that used to be his arms, and eventually he just collapses on the floor and whines at his equally helpless boyfriend.

“How did this happen?” Phil asks, and again, Jér can only whine in response.

“We’ll figure this out mon beau,” Phil promises, awkwardly petting Jér’s head.

The day goes by in a blur, Phil googling everything he can think of as to why Jér’s now a dog and coming up with nothing while Jér sits by his side occasionally resting his head on Phil’s knee, until they’re both too tired to do anything but sleep.

 

When Jér wakes up the next morning, the first thing he sees when he opens his eyes is the red and black sheets in a heap on their bed and a red and white husky on the other side of the bed. _Wait what?_ Jér thinks, almost falling out of bed at the shock.

“Phil?” Jér asks, trying not to freak out, knowing that’s the last thing either of them needs.

“Arooroo?” Phil says sleepily, and he must realize that he just howled instead of spoke because now _he’s_ in a heap on the floor.

Jér gets off the bed and sits next to Phil on the floor, remembering how good pets behind the ear feels and doing his best to comfort Phil the way he comforted Jér yesterday.

“We’ll figure this out, mon beau,” Jér says echoing Phil’s earlier promise. And they will, but they should probably talk to someone who knows about dogs, since Jer’s family never had one growing up and he’s almost positive Phil never had one either.

 ---

 

_Nic_

 

Nic’s not expecting an email first thing in the morning and he’s got half a mind to just ignore it until he’s had his first cup of coffee but before he knows it the email’s open on his phone, so he might as well read it.

**New message**

**Hi, my roommate and i are looking for a dog walker/sitter, are you free this weekend?**

**-Phil M.**

Nic mentally checks his calendar, then literally checks the one on his phone to make sure he’s got at least half an hour of free time to meet “Phil” and his dogs, and he’s not sure why his heart skips a beat when he realizes that he’s got _just enough_ time for it on Sunday.

**Reply**

**Hi Phil,**

**I can do a quick meet and greet this Sunday if that works for you. Just fill out this questionnaire and we can set it up.**

**-Nicolas**

**New message**

**Done :)**

**Thanks!**

Nic tries not to smile at the stupid emoji but he can already feel the right side of his mouth turning up ever so slightly. _At least he seems friendly_ , Nic thinks before opening up the questionnaire his mom insisted he use to scope new clients out and make sure they’re not serial killers targeting dog walkers.

From what Nic understands from the questionnaire, Phil and Jér have two huskies but he’ll only be working with one of them at a time; he’s not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, two huskies sounds like a lot of work and even more energy to handle at one time. They live close too, Nic figures it’ll only be a five minute drive from his place to theirs, hell, it’s close enough that he could walk the dogs to his place and grab lunch from home instead of eating out if timing works out.

Nic emails back and forth with Phil for a while, Nic doesn’t even mean to keep the conversation going this long but it turns out Phil’s really easy to talk to and really loves his dogs and by the time they say their goodbyes Nic can’t wait to actually meet him in person.

 

Nic usually dresses up a little for initial meetings with clients but since he’s squeezing Phil in he didn’t have time to change, he regrets it even more when Phil answers the door in a black v-neck and jeans that must have been painted on. _Wait, where did that thought come from?_ Nic asks himself. _This is a new client, chill._

He doesn’t really have time to dwell on that thought much longer because the next thing he knows a giant ball of floof is flying through the doorway and trying to knock him over.

“Shit, sorry, Jéremy knock it off,” Phil says, sounding embarrassed and fond. “We don’t jump on guests, we’ve talked about this.”

“He’s fine,” Nic promises before turning all of his attention to the floof and using the voice that makes every client love him. “Hi buddy, how’re you?”

“This is Jéremy,” Phil says. “He loves new people.”

“Well I hope he loves me when I’m old people,” Nic laughs, kneeling down so he can properly pet Jéremy.

Jéremy flops over onto his back and starts pawing at Nic’s arm begging for belly rubs that Nic’s only too happy to give him before he realizes that he’s kneeling on the doorstep and Phil probably doesn’t appreciate leaving his front door open while a stranger pets his dog.

“Maybe we should go inside bud, why don’t you ask your dad if that’s okay?” Nic tells Jéremy, looking up at Phil to gauge his reaction to the question.

“That’s a good idea,” Phil says. “Sorry, I should’ve invited you in sooner.”

“You’re fine, we got interrupted anyways, didn’t we bud?” Nic says, looking at Jéremy with a faux-annoyed look before smiling at petting behind his left ear, which earns him a sloppy kiss on his forearm.

“Come on it, the couch is comfier than it looks I swear,” Phil says, sitting in a chair across from the couch.

Judging from the dog hair on the couch the dogs must spend more time on it than Phil or his roommate do, and Jéremy bouncing right up next to Nic when he sits down just confirms that theory. Jéremy immediately puts his paws in Nic’s lap and rests his head on them, looking up at Nic, Nic knows that dogs can pout but wow this is a whole new level of “please pet me I’m neglected,” and Nic is powerless to resist.

“So what are you guys looking for from me?” Nic asks when he looks up and sees Phil watching them.

“We basically just need someone to watch the dogs when we’re busy” Phil explains. “Right now Jér’s got Philippe with him at work, and usually I take Jéremy to class with me, but we’re both too busy at home to give them the attention they deserve so we need help.”

“So it’ll just be one dog at a time?” Nic says, not completely understanding the arrangement.

“Yeah, one dog at a time depending on who’s home,” Phil says. “Sorry, we’re just getting used to things. We just got them last week from a friend who needed to rehome them and we couldn’t say no to their faces.”

“I don’t blame you,” Nic says, there’s no way he could say no to them either.

“We just need someone to help get them outside and spend time with them here,” Phil explains. “Y’know, play with them, cuddle, take them for walks, that kind of thing, while we’re busy.”

“I think I got it,” Nic says. “When do you need me to start?”

“As soon as you can, honestly,” Phil says. “But it’s up to you and your schedule, I’m sure you’re really busy.”

“I am, but I think I can start coming over Wednesday if that works for you and your roommate,” Nic says.

“That’s perfect,” Phil says, the happiness in his voice enough to make Jéremy huff out a bark and start manically wagging his tail.

“Jér’ll be here Wednesday, I’ve got class all day,” Phil says. “You’ll get to meet Philippe then too, he usually goes with Jér to work.”

“Wait, isn’t your dog’s name Jéremy, and you’re Phil?” Nic asks, trying to keep his confusion off his face but failing miserably if the smirk on Phil’s face is anything to go by.

“Don’t ask, my boyfriend thought it would be funny if we named our dogs after each other,” Phil says. “Makes fighting easier I guess, we can’t stay mad at each other if we’re also talking to the dogs.”

“Believe it or not, that’s not the weirdest reason I’ve heard for people naming their dogs,” Nic laughs.

“Really?” Phil laughs.

“I had someone name their dog after their ex so they could make him get their mail every day, something the ex never did,” Nic says.

“No shit?” Phil asks.

“There’s weirder stories but I’ll save them for another day,” Nic says. “I’ll see you…”

“Thursday, if you can swing it?” Phil asks.

“I can definitely swing it,” Nic says. “I’ll see you Thursday. I can’t wait to meet Philippe.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’s excited to meet you too,” Phil laughs. “He’s got better manners than Jéremy I promise.”

\---

Nic’s not sure what to expect when Jér answers the door, but it’s definitely not a half-dressed sleep-tousled haired boy rubbing at his eyes like he wasn’t expecting Nic to show up.

“Oh shit,” Jér says. “I fucking forgot we actually have a dog sitter.”

“Sorry, Phil said to come by around 10, and it’s 10:02,” Nic says. “I might be able to come back later if later’s better.”

“No you’re fine,” Jér says. “Come on in.”

Nic’s trying not to stare at Jér’s chest and must fail because Jér looks down at himself and sputters out a quick “I should put some clothes on I’ll be right back,” before running out of the room.

As soon as Jér’s out of the room a massive red and white husky saunters into the entryway Nic’s still standing in like a dope, when it notices Nic it prances right up to him and Nic’s instantly in love.

“Hi bud,” he says offering his fist for the dog to sniff, “You must be Philippe.”

Philippe carefully sniffs Nic’s hand for a second before pushing his nose into Nic’s fist asking for pets.

“Pushy, aren’t we,” Nic laughs, instantly giving in and scratching Philippe behind the ear.

“Sorry, he loves attention,” Jér says, and it’s a miracle Nic doesn’t fall backwards at the noise, but judging from the smirk on Jér’s face he must have jumped a little. “And sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Phil says I need to walk louder so I don’t do that.”

“You’re fine,” Nic assures him before giving Philippe one last scratch and standing up.

“So I’m not really sure how this works,” Jér says. “Phil just said you’re here to help?”

“I am,” Nic says. “Clients usually aren’t here when I come by but since one of you is gonna be home with one of the dogs while I’m here we can figure things out as we go.”

“Works for me,” Jér says.

“Cool,” Nic says, mentally cursing himself for sounding so awkward.

“I see you’ve met Philippe,” Jér says, sounding just as unsure of himself.

“I have, he’s a softie,” Nic coos at the dog.

“Philippe thinks he’s the better behaved boy but Jéremy’s much more handsome,” Jér brags.

“Oh I dunno,” Nic says, turning his attention to Philippe, “I think you’re both equally handsome.”

Nic’s not sure why Jér’s blushing when he looks up from his knees at him, but surely enough his nose and ears are turning a delicate pink that wasn’t there thirty seconds ago.

“Well I’m sure they’re both flattered you think so,” Jér says while Philippe huffs out a gentle bark in agreement.

Philippe butts his head against Nic’s thigh at that very moment, and who is Nic to refuse the opportunity to stroke that gorgeous soft fur.

“Hi again bud,” Nic says using his best puppy voice. He almost forgets Jér’s in the room with them until he hears Jérask a question.

“So what’s the plan for today?” Jér asks.

“Today’s mostly just me meeting Philippe,” Nic says.   

“Oh cool, I was gonna say, I’m just chilling here for the day so we don’t really need any help,” Jér says.

“Cool,” Nic says. “I guess I’ll see you…”

“You’ll see Phil and Jéremy Thursday,” Jér says. “So you’ll probably see me and Philippe in a few days.”

“Okay,” Nic says. “See you then. Bye Philippe,” he adds, giving Philippe one last scratch behind his ears.

\---

“I’ve gotta run, lock up before you leave?” Phil asks.

“No worries, I’ll take him for a run then we’ll have a cuddle party for a bit,” Nic says, ushering Phil out the door because he knows Phil’s running late for class.

“Thanks again,” Phil says before turning his attention to Jéremy. “Be a good boy for Uncle Nic okay?”

Nic hopes his face isn’t as red as it feels, he loves knowing that Phil and Jér think he’s part of their family even if part of him aches at the thought of never being more than friends, not that he’d ever act on his feelings. He’d die if anything came between the two of them, even at his own expense.  

Jéremy must be able to sense that Nic’s upset himself, because the next thing he knows he’s got a lapful of Jéremy’s favorite blanket and an eyeful of the biggest puppy dog eyes he’s ever seen.

“I’m alright bud,” Nic promises, ruffing up the hair on the back of Jéremy’s neck just the way he likes it. “Let’s go to the park eh?”

The bark Jéremy lets out tells Nic that he agrees with the plan, and the walk will hopefully pull himself out of his head enough to have some fun playing tag at the park with an oversized teddy bear.

Nic lets Jéremy off his leash as soon as they get to the park, and surely enough Jéremy nips at his ankle and darts off towards the bushes on the other side of the dog park.

“Oh, it’s on,” Nic shouts after Jéremy; already running in his direction.

As usual, Jéremy’s waiting for him in the bushes, taking advantage of Nic catching his breath to jump out of the bushes and knocking him flat on his back.

“Ok bud, you win this round,” Nic laughs as he’s smothered in kisses and fur, pushing Jéremy off him after a minute before tapping the dog on the ear and running away.

Jéremy catches him soon after, nipping at his ankle and running away, and they continue their game until they’re both doubled over panting, Jéremy on his back and Nic on his knees.

“That was fun wasn’t it bud,” Nic asks. “But it’s time to go home.”

Jéremy looks too tired to put up much of a fight and lets Nic reattach his leash without and letting Nic lead him to the gate without argument.

By the time they get back to the Phil and Jér’s apartment, Nic’s ready to take a nap and Jéremy doesn’t look much better off. Nic toes his shoes off at the door and promptly forgets that Jéremy likes to steal shoes, instead focusing on the couch waiting in the living room for both of them.

Nic dozes off, not thinking twice that Jéremy hasn’t joined him on the couch yet, he’s probably just getting a drink or something, and just before he falls asleep he feels the warm familiar floof that he’s come to recognize as Jérsettling against his side.

“Hey bud, why you smiling like that,” Nic hears himself ask, accepting Jéremy’s smirk as a non-answer before he closes his eyes again.

When Nic wakes up, Jéremy’s looking at him with the same stupid smirk on his face that he’s seen on Jér’s face a million times in the months that he’s known them.

“What did you do bud?” Nic asks. “Please tell me you didn’t get into the trash again. Your dads will kill me then you.”

A pleased huff is the only answer he gets from Jéremy, and when he looks at the clock he sees that Phil should be coming home any minute now so he’d better make sure that Jéremy did not in fact get into the trash.

“Oh thank god,” Nic says when he sees the trash hasn’t been touched, and perfect timing because the jingle of keys in the door tells him that Phil’s home.

“How’d it go today?” they ask each other at the same time, Nic taking the time to watch Phil’s face light up when he sees Jéremy. _If only he looked at me like that_ , Nic lets himself think.

“You first,” Nic insists, trying to ignore the way his heart is aching at how in tune Phil and Jéremy are with each other.

“Class was fine, I guess,” Phil says.

“Didn’t fall asleep again, did you?” Nic laughs, he’s never going to let Phil forget about the time they stayed up playing keep away from Jéremy in the backyard until 2am.

“Come on that was one time,” Phil laughs. “But no, I didn’t, thanks for asking.”

“Good to know,” Nic laughs. “You should tell Jéremy he cheats at tag.”

“Jéremy no,” Phil gasps, shooting Jéremy    a horrified look.

“Yep, it’s a proven fact,” Nic pouts. “I don’t knock him down, he plays dirty.”

“That’s my boy,” Phil says, scratching Jéremy behind the ear.

“Hey,” Nic stammers.

“Gotta win at all costs sometimes,” Phil explains, and Jéremy promptly sits on his haunches and gives Nic the biggest shit eating grin he’s ever seen.

“Well then _you_ can figure out what Jéremy got into because he did _something_ I just don’t know what it is,” Nic says. “I gotta take off anyways.”

“Oh bud what did you do,” Phil asks as Nic goes to grab his shoes.

“Shit,” Nic says when he sees that only _one_ of his shoes is where he left it. “Bud tell me you didn’t.”

“Didn’t what?” Phil asks, both of them looking at Jéremy while he looks at both of them with the most faux-innocent look on his face.

“Where’d you put it bud?” Nic asks. “I need my shoe so I can go home.”

“Aww he doesn’t want you to leave,” Phil coos, petting Jéremy like he’s the best boy.

“Not funny bro,” Nic says, honestly not sure which one of them he’s talking to.

“Jéremy it’s not nice to take people’s things,” Phil says. “We’ve talked about this.”

“Arroooooooroooooooooo,” is the only response Phil gets for his reprimands before Jéremy starts running between Phil and Nic trying to get them to play with him.

“Here, I’ll check his usual hiding spots in the bedroom while you check the living room,” Phil says.

“On it,” Nic says, but judging by the self-assured smirk on Jéremy’s face he might have gone outside and buried the shoe for all they know.

“Anything?” Phil asks from the bedroom. “Ouch, dammit, Jéremy, you’ve gotta find a hiding spot that doesn’t mean I smack my knee when I check it.”

“Nothing,” Nic says after reaching under the coffee table.

“ARROoooooorrooooooroooo” Jéremy howls as if he’s laughing at them.

“Okay buddy, I really need my shoe back,” Nic pleads, using the voice that Jéremy can’t resist.

“Now Jéremy,” Phil says, sounding about as stern as Nic’s ever heard him.

Jéremy looks like he’s going to challenge Phil for a second before running off with his tail between his legs towards the bathroom.

“Really dude,” Nic says. “My shoe better not be in the fucking toilet.”

When Jéremy comes back with the shoe Nic’s glad it’s dry, albeit with the exception of some drool.

“Now you’re just sulking,” Nic says as Jéremy drops the shoe in front of his feet, whining the entire time.

“Ah ah ah, you’re not taking the other one either,” Nic says, remembering that there’s another shoe when Jéremy starts eyeing it.

Jéremy whines again but goes over to Phil as if Phil’s going to let him take the shoe.

“Sorry bud,” Phil says. “You’ll see him really soon, okay?”

“Yeah, you know I’ll be back Monday,” Nic says, knowing that he’ll see Jérand Philippe on Friday.

“...Yeah, Monday,” Phil says, sharing a look with Jéremy that Nic has no idea how to process.

“Ok well, tell Philippe I’m not letting him win tug-of-war next time,” Nic says before getting up and heading towards the door.

“I’ll tell him but that doesn’t mean he’ll listen,” Phil laughs, and there’s something _more_ in his voice that Nic doesn’t understand and refuses to question out loud.

“See you later,” Nic tells Jéremy, giving him one last belly rub before leaving.

\---

**Jér**

**I’ll be out when you come over, just use the key Phil gave you to let yourself in**

**Me**

**You gonna be back later?**

**Jér**

**I’ll be back around 2 if you’re still around**

**Me**

**Cool**

Nic figures that’s his cue to head over to Phil and Jér’s apartment, so he grabs the husky shaped key ring that Phil gave him as a joke “from Jér” and does just that.

“Hey bud,” Nic says when he sees Philippe lying on the floor in the middle of the entryway. “Were you waiting for me?”

Philippe huffs out a response that sounds like a yes but makes no move to get up from his belly up, paws out position.

“You gotta get up bud,” Nic says. “We gotta go on our walk, remember?”

“Arooooroooooroooo,” is the only response he gets, and it’s so soft that Nic barely hears it.

“Come on bud,” he pleads.

“Arooroooooooooooooooooooooooo.”

“Up,” Nic says.

“-Roooooo.”

“Now.”

“-roooo.”

“Please?” Nic pleads, caving in and getting on the ground with Philippe.

Philippe rolls onto his belly this time, which Nic counts as progress, before putting his head in his paws and refusing to look at Nic.

“Come on bud,” Nic tries again. “W-a-l-k time.”

“Arooorroooooorrrrroooooo.”

“Don’t make me pick you up bud you’re too big,” Nic pleads.

“-raroooooooo.”

Clearly begging isn’t going to make Philippe get up, so Nic figures he better try another tactic.

“I thought your dad said you had better manners than Jéremy,” he tries, and the huff Philippe lets out suggests that that might be the trick. “This isn’t good manners, Jéremy’s always excited to go on walks.”

“-rooaoooarooo,” Philippe whines, still not getting up.

“I’m gonna tell your dad you were naughty and that’s why you didn’t get a walk,” Nic threatens, not that he’d ever actually do it or leave without giving Philippe a walk, but Philippe doesn’t know that.

“Arrooroooooooooooooo.”

“Yep, I’m gonna tell him,” Nic says, hoping his hands on his hips conveys how serious he is.

“-rooooooooo,” Philippe whines one last time before ever-so-slowly getting up.

“Thank you,” Nic says, watching Philippe stand up.

Philippe lets out another annoyed huff and deliberately doesn’t look at Nic while he walks over to where Phil and Jérkeep the leashes.

“You can pout all you want,” Nic says as he hooks Philippe’s leash to his collar. “But you know walks with me are way better than any other walks.”

Surely enough, as soon as they’re outside Philippe is his usual happy self, sniffing at all the trees and gently knocking his side into Nic’s legs as if he’s making sure that Nic’s keeping up with his pace.

“D’you wanna go to the park or is today a lazy day?” Nic asks, and the sleepy look he gets tells him that today is definitely a lazy day. “Ok bud, a few more blocks then we can go home and nap.”

Surely enough, they make it a few more blocks before Philippe’s pulling on the leash trying to lead Nic back home, and Nic can’t resist the pout on his face whenever Philippe turns to look at him, so he gives in and lets Philippe take them home.

“Yeah bud, let’s go home,” he says.

Philippe collapses on the couch as soon as Nic unlocks the door, normally Nic would be worried that Philippe’s so tired but he figures everyone’s allowed to have off days every now and then so he follows suit and collapses on the floor in front of the couch.

“You couldn’t have left a spot for me bud?” he asks, and judging from the sheepish grin on Philippe’s face he knows exactly what he did — he’s just too tired to care. “That’s fine, the floor’s just as comfy.”

Of course, as soon as Nic finishes his sentence Philippe takes that as an invitation and jumps off the couch and onto the floor next to Nic, mimicking Nic’s body position.

Nic rolls onto his other side, just to see if Philippe is copying him, and surely enough, Philippe rolls onto his other side seconds later. Nic rolls onto his back, raising his left leg into the air, and less than a second later Philippe does the very same thing.

“Bud are you copying me?” Nic asks, and Philippe answers with a whine as if he’s trying to talk at the same time Nic is.

Nic puts his leg down and crosses his arms over his chest, and surely enough Philippe does the same thing, at least as much as he can with paws and not arms. It shouldn’t look as cute as it does, and if it was a human copying him he’d probably be annoyed but he’s honestly just charmed.

Nic’s not sure how long they continue playing the “puppy see puppy do” game but before he knows it Jér’s standing over them with his phone camera filming everything and Nic would be annoyed if he wasn’t fully aware of how ridiculous they must look.

“Do I wanna know how long you’ve been standing there?” Nic asks.

“I just got home five minutes ago,” Jér says. “Don’t worry, I only got you two staring lovingly into each other’s eyes, nothing too embarrassing.”

“That was a staring contest, thank you very much,” Nic says.

“Sure it was,” Jér laughs.

“Listen, sometimes you’ve gotta show a dog who’s boss and that means a staring contest,” Nic says. “It’s dominance, look it up.”

“I don’t think dominance involves giggling and nose-booping, but whatever floats your boat,” Jér laughs.

“Shut up,” Nic laughs, deciding that he should probably get up off the floor to talk to Jer.

“Sorry I’m late, class ran long,” Jér says.

“You weren’t at work?” Nic asks.

“Nope, I had an exam today so I swapped shifts with Phil and Jéremy went with him,” Jér says.

“Oh cool,” Nic says. “How’d the exam go?”

“Meh,” Jér says. “I think I didn’t study hard enough but it’s hard when you’ve got fluff balls taking up the bed while you’re trying to study.”

“Yeah, they’re big needy boys,” Nic laughs. “But I’m sure you did fine on the test.”

“Thanks,” Jér says.

They sit on the couch and Nic loses track of time for the second time today, but how could he care about that when Jér’s so much fun to talk to? When Jér talks about something he cares about, especially his dogs, his entire face lights up and Nic loses himself in the way Jér smiles when he talks about Phil and their life together. He refuses to let himself be jealous of those smiles, and takes some little sense of comfort in the small smiles Jér directs his way but his heart still hurts a little knowing that it’s not the same smile that is just for Phil.

“I should take off,” Nic finally says. “I’ve got another client tonight that I’ve gotta get ready to see.”

“You’re cheating on us?” Jér gasps, the faux-shock in his voice enough to startle a laugh out of Nic.

“You caught me,” Nic says, trying not to smile at the joke but failing miserably.

“Well Philippe and Jéremy had better be your favorites,” Jér says.

“They’re my best boys,” Nic says. “I wish I could see them together.”

“Me too,” Jér says, suddenly looking sad. “But it’s complicated.”

“Oh?” Nic asks.

“Yeah, it’s just...the way it has to be right now,” Jér says, not bothering to explain more.

“Well I hope one day I can see them together, and you and Phil,” Nic says.

“One day,” Jér promises.

Before Nic knows it he’s pulling Jér into a tight hug and not letting go until he feels Philippe brush up against his knee, and it wouldn’t be a proper hug without including him so Nic moves to his knees, pulling Jér with him until the three of them are hugging.

“Thanks bro,” Jér says once they pull away.

“I think we all needed that,” Nic says.

Philippe huffs out an agreement and Nic can’t read the look between Jér and Philippe but he figures whatever’s going on has no room for him so he figures that’s his cue to leave.

“I’ll see you both later,” he quietly says before heading out the door.

The responding huff and “bye Nic” are almost too quiet for him to hear but they make him smile nonetheless.

\---

Nic’s trying not to be jealous that he never gets to see Phil and Jér at the same time, but the more he thinks about it, he’s almost happy that he doesn’t have to see them around each other, the little things they must do that only come from years of being together and learning each other’s quirks. He’s torturing himself just thinking about the way Jér must do something small to make Phil’s day better without being asked, or the way Phil probably smiles at Jér when he tells a private joke that only they understand.

Philippe and Jéremy together must be a sight too, two giant balls of floof running around that small apartment, getting up to all the shenanigans Nic’s already gotten to see from them. He can only imagine how much work the two of them are, but he knows first hand how affectionate the boys are so surely they make it Phil and Jér’s while.

Now that Nic’s thinking about it, whenever he talks to Phil or Jér about the other man he sees a look in their eyes, if Nic didn’t know they came home to each other every night he’d think the look was pain from being apart. _They do come home to each other every night, right?_ He thinks to himself. _If they were having problems they would have mentioned it to him, wouldn’t they?_ Not that it’s any of his business, they’re busy and surely that’s the reason they’re always apart during the day, right?

Nic’s not going to bring it up again, not after the way something in Jér’s eyes died when he mentioned wanting to see the dogs together.

More importantly, Nic’s ignoring the voice in his head that says that it’s weird that Phil and Jérnamed their dogs after each other, and that sometimes Jéremy gets a look on his face that Nic swears is a smirk but dogs don’t smirk and that Philippe’s eyes are the same blue Phil’s are. Nic isn’t stupid, magic isn’t real and people don’t turn into dogs, so why is he even thinking about it?

Nic’s saved from his thoughts by Jér’s ringtone going off, and he’s never been happier to hear that stupid bark Jérinsisted his ringtone should be.

**Jer**

**We’re still on for tomorrow right?**

**Me**

**Course! See you in the morning**

**Jer**

**Can’t wait! Philippe says hi btw**

**Me**

**Same! Tell him hi for me**

**Jer**

**Will do!**

Nic’s not sure why Jér’s the one asking, tomorrow he’s supposed to be meeting Phil and Jéremy, but either way he’s happy to hear from him. Nic falls asleep that night with a smile on his face, excited to see his boys again. Or, boy and dog, but that’s semantics.

\---

Phil’s home when Nic comes over this time, answering the door before Nic can grab the key they gave him out of his pocket and greeting him with a happy smile and a perky “hello” before pulling Nic into the apartment.

“I don’t have class til one, sorry,” Phil says, “We meant to text you and let you know you could come over later.”

“No worries,” Nic says. “I can come back later?”

“No, stay,” Phil says. “We’re just watching Suits and being lazy.”

“I’ve never seen Suits,” Nic murmurs, not wanting to offend Phil.

“Well then you have to stay,” Phil announces. “Jéremy could probably use a buddy anyways, he’s not that big of a fan.”

Phil practically drags Nic to the couch, gesturing for him to sit next to Jéremy on the couch while he moves Jéremy’s legs over so there’s room for both all three of them. Jéremy, of course, immediately crawls over to Nic and puts his head on Nic’s lap, looking up at him as if saying “please pet me I’m adorable,” and who is Nic to resist that.

“Ready?” Phil asks, not taking his eyes off them.

“Yeah,” Nic says while Jéremy whines annoyedly.

“Sorry Jay, Nic wants to watch this too,” Phil preens.

“I’m curious,” Nic agrees, settling further into the couch with Jéremy practically in his lap.

Jéremy whines and digs his chin into Nic’s thigh but as soon as Nic and Phil start petting him he quiets down and as much as Nic tries to pay attention to the tv he can’t help but focus on how close Phil is to him, just a cushion away on the other side of Jéremy.

They only manage to watch an episode and a half before Phil has to go to class, apologizing and promising that they can watch more of it when he gets home if Nic wants to and Nic has to bite his lip to keep from saying that he’d watch a million more episodes of any show Phil wants if it means he gets to spend more time with Phil.

As soon as Phil’s gone, Jéremy stirs and starts whining for attention that Nic is only too happy to give him.

“Come ‘ere bud,” Nic says, patting his lap and before he can blink he has a lapful of floof.

“I missed you too bud,” Nic says when Jéremy huffs at him.

They sit like that for a while before Nic starts to miss Phil’s smile and Jér’s corny jokes again, and Jéremy must notice that something’s wrong because he starts nosing at Nic’s hand and gently licking it.

“Oh bud, I love your dads so much,” Nic tells Jéremy. “But they’re perfect for each other and I’m not.”

The whine from Jéremy sounds very much like he disagrees with what Nic just said, but it’s not like Jéremy actually understands anything he’s saying but it’s nice to think that at least someone cares about him, even if that someone is a dog.

Nic and Jéremy fall asleep on the couch curled up together, and before he knows it the turn of the keys in the lock telling him that Phil’s home.

“How were my best boys?” Phil asks, reaching down and petting Jéremy while smiling at Nic.

“Jéremy tried to chase a squirrel up a tree,” Nic confesses.

“Jéremy, please tell me you didn’t try to climb the tree,” Phil says, looking Jéremy in the eyes and meeting nothing but the side of Jéremy’s snout.

“He did,” Nic laughs. “I got video.”

Jéremy howls betrayedly and Nic can’t help but laugh before getting his phone out of his pocket.

“Come on, I’ll show you,” Nic says, leading Phil to the couch while Jéremy can only helplessly watch. Or, Nic thinks he can only watch helplessly, because now Jéremy’s running after him trying to get the phone out of Nic’s hand.

“Jéremy stop it,” Nic and Phil say when they make it to the couch, and Jéremy immediately starts pouting.

“Go to bed if you can’t behave,” Phil says, and Jéremy gets up and sulks off to the bedroom rather than listen to the video of him trying to climb a tree.

“Alright, he’s gone,” Nic says, hitting play on his phone.

When the video’s done, Phil’s leaning against Nic’s side laughing his ass off, and Nic is grateful for the closeness until his eyes catch Phil’s.  

The last thing Nic expects is for Phil to pull him closer, and before Nic knows it Phil’s lips are against his and _they’re_ _kissing. This isn’t right,_ Nic thinks, _Phil has a boyfriend, Phil loves his boyfriend._ Nic jerks back, not knowing when the tears started again but he feels them escaping his eyes and carving a path down his cheeks.

“I should go,” Nic says, wiping at his eyes trying to get rid of the tears.

“You don’t have-” Phil starts, but Nic’s already out the door.

\---

_Epilogue (Jer)_

 

When Jér wakes up this time, the first thing he feels is that there’s a mop of curls in his face and a warm, hairless body next to him.

“Phil?” Jér asks, gently nudging his boyfriend onto his side so he can fully look at his face. It’s Phil’s turn to be a dog today if the past few months has been anything to go by, but he’s his normal goofy looking self.

“Hmm?” Phil mutters. “‘S too early mon beau.”

“Phil wake up,” Jér pleads, needing Phil to realize that they’re both human.

“What d’you want?” Phil asks, waving a hand in Jér’s general direction trying to push him away.

“What day is it mon beau?” Jér asks, needing Phil to understand.

“‘S your day to see Nic,” Phil whines, not getting it.

“And why is that?” Jér asks.

“Because it’s your day-” Phil starts, julting up and almost headbutting Jér in the nose.

“There he is,” Jér says, happy that the lightbulb just went off in Phil’s head.

Phil looks down at himself, seemingly in awe that he’s his normal self, no signs of the dog that he usually is when he wakes up next to Jér.

“But what happened?” Phil asks. “What’s different?”

“Did something happen yesterday while I was outside?” Jér asks.

“...I kissed Nic,” Phil stammers and immediately curling into a ball.

“You did what?” Jér asks.

“I don’t know what happened,” Phil says. “It just. I kissed him.”

“Did he kiss back?” Jér asks.

“For a second and then he ran out the door,” Phil says. “Why does that matter?”

“Because…” Jér starts.

“Did you want him to kiss me?” Phil asks.

“I dunno,” Jér says. “Maybe?”

“You love Nic,” Phil says, and it’s not accusatory, it’s just a statement.

“You love Nic too,” Jé rsays, “But I still love you.”

“I love you too,” Phil promises, reaching out to intertwine their fingers together. Jér’s quick to squeeze Phil’s hand, needing all the comfort he can get from his boyfriend while they have this conversation.

“But we both love Nic?” Jér asks.

“We do,” Phil says. “But what do we do about it?”

“Do we want to tell him?” Jér asks.  

“I don’t want to ruin anything with him,” Phil says.

“But what if it makes things better?” Jér asks, half-remembering Nic’s confession. “I we should do it.”

“What do we say?” Phil asks. “You were a bumbling idiot the first time you asked me out, remember?”

“I was _charming_ , thank you very much,” Jér says. “Besides, you’re the one who said yes.”

“I did,” Phil says smiling.

“You were too scared to make the first move,” Jér recalls.

“I was biding my time,” Phil jokes.

“Until we both died from blue balls?” Jér laughs.

“I would’ve come up with something before that,” Phil says.

“Sure,” Jér laughs, pulling Phil into a hug.

“Seriously, we should come up with a game plan,” Phil says into Jér’s neck.

Jér pulls away so he can grab his phone off the nightstand and shoots Nic a series of texts.

**Me**

**Come over and chill?**

**Me and Philippe have a surprise for you**

**Nic**

**Jér it’s 6am**

**Me**

**Don’t care, come over**

**Please**

**Nic**

**…**

**…**

**I’ll be over in 10**

**Me**

**:) thanks**

**See you soon**

“See? It’s as easy as that,” Jér says, showing Phil the texts.

“He’s actually coming?” Phil asks, folding his hands together nervously.

“He is,” Jér says. “And it’ll be ok. No matter what he says.”

“What if he gets mad and says no,” Phil asks.

“Trust me,” Jér says. “I don’t think he’ll get mad.”

 

Jér takes those 10 minutes to calm Phil down and text Zach, since he’s the last person they talked to before he woke up a dog.

**Me**

**Wtf did you do**

**Z**

**Good morning to you too**

**What’re you talking about**

**Me**

**Magic**

**Curse**

**Me and Phil**

**For months**

**Z**

**Lmao what?**

**Me**

**You did something**

**Z**

**All i said was that i bet you wouldn’t notice if anyone else tried to come into your bubble**

**I didn’t do anything**

**….**

**Shit**

**Me**

**Well that must’ve been it**

**It’s fixed now though**

**Z**

**Whos the guy**

**Me**

**…**

**His name is Nic**

**Z**

**Congrats**

**Can i go back to sleep now**

**Me**

**Ig**

**:)**

**Z**

**:0**

Nic comes over 10 minutes later, as promised, and Jér almost wishes it took him more time to get there. He’s not nervous or anything, this is just a big conversation to have and it could potentially change all of their lives, so maybe he _is_ a little nervous.

“We want to date you,” Jér says when Phil lets Nic inside, and that’s really not how he wanted to begin the conversation. A “Hi Nic, how are you?” was what he planned on saying, but it’s not like he can take the words back now.

“Is this a joke?” Nic asks, eyes darting between Phil and Jér but never meeting their eyes.

“This isn’t a joke,” Jér promises, wanting desperately to touch Nic but not knowing if he’s allowed.

“We want you,” Phil says.

“Why?” Nic asks.

“Why not?” Phil says.

“You’re perfect,” Jér starts. “You’re funny and smart and sweet and you love us too-” _shit_ , he wasn’t supposed to say that last part.

“What?” Nic says, his lips curling into an embarrassed frown.

“Ok well now I guess it’s time for you to know,” Jér says. “I’m Jéremy, and Phil’s Philippe.”

“That’s not funny,” Nic says.

“Believe me, it wasn’t funny to live,” Phil says.

“That’s not possible,” Nic says. “People don’t just turn into dogs.”

“It’s possible when your little shit of a brother is magic and curses you accidentally,” Jér says. “And that’s what happened.”

“So...what you were cursed to be a dog while Phil was cursed to be a person,” Nic says. “Then you switched off?”

“Exactly,” Phil and Jér say in unison.

“But that’s-” Nic starts.

“Remember in the park?” Jér asks. “How I’d always nip at your ankle to get you to chase me, and you’d always find me in those bushes?”

“How do you know that?” Nic says. “You weren’t there.”

“But I was, I just had four legs and a deeper voice,” Jér says.

“And remember the staring contests we’d have?” Phil says. “You’d always try to tickle me to make me blink?”

“But…” Nic says.

“That was me the whole time,” Phil promises.

“You’re not joking,” Nic says, and Jér would give anything right now to kiss the confusion off his face and from the looks of it Phil’s not doing any better.

“We’re not,” Jér promises.

 **“** And. You want me?” Nic says.

“We do,” they say in unison, and Jér gives into his urge to reach over and put his hand on top of Nic’s. Nic stares at their hands for what feels like forever, so long that Jér’s about to pull his hand back when Nic turns his hand over and laces their fingers together and smiles up at Jér wonderingly. Phil reaches his hand out and Nic meets him halfway, lacing their fingers together too and looking the happiest Jér’s ever seen him.

“And you still want each other,” Nic says.

“We do,” they both say.

“Okay,” Nic says. “How is this gonna work?”

“We just keep doing what we’ve been doing I think,” Jér says. “There’s just no dog hair all over the place and we don’t need to leave the house if we don’t want to.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Nic says.

“We’re still gonna cuddle all the time?” Jér asks.

“Course,” Phil and Nic promise at the same time.

“Then let’s cuddle,” Jér says, dragging them both to the bedroom.

“And kiss?” Nic asks shyly.

“Oh, we can do more than kiss if you want to,” Jér says wiggling his eyebrows.

“Let’s just start with kisses,” Phil insists, leaning over and giving Nic a quick pet on the lips. “Was that ok?”

“Way better than dog kisses,” Nic laughs.

“Good,” Jér says, taking his turn to kiss Nic.

 _Way better than dog kisses_ , Nic thinks to himself, before they exchange kisses until they fall asleep.


End file.
